Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a gas supply manifold and a method for supplying gases, particularly to those for uniformly supplying multiple gases to a processing chamber.
Description of the Related Art
As a method of depositing a film on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, atomic layer deposition (ALD) such as plasma-enhanced ALD (PEALD) and thermal ALD are well known. In ALD, since multiple gases are often used, separated gas lines are required to deliver process gases for an ALD reactor. Each gas line is connected via a manifold tube to a reactor Chamber (RC). However, these separated gas lines cause had uniformity over a wafer because gases are not sufficiently mixed when entering the reactor chamber. Uniformity of gases upstream of the reaction chamber affects in-plane uniformity of a film on a wafer. Although currently a 300-mm reactor (i.e., a reactor processing a 300-mm wafer) is commonly used, the use of a 450-mm reactor has started for high throughput and productivity. However, uniformity becomes worse in a 450 mm reactor.
Any discussion of problems and solutions involved in the related art has been included in this disclosure solely for the purposes of providing a context for the present invention, and should not be taken as an admission that any or all of the discussion were known at the time the invention was made.